mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Teaching Evaluation
This section includes articles that focus on teaching of and training in evaluation.Articles may address evaluation teaching and training in diverse environments,including K–12, corporate, government, non-profit, or community settings, inaddition to more traditional academic settings. Articles might also identify strat-egies and outcomes of teaching evaluation to community and agency members. Avariety of formats are welcome, including case studies, interviews, and moretraditional articles. Research on the teaching of evaluation is especially welcome.In general, manuscripts for this section should range from 5 to 20 pages in length,although shorter or longer papers will be considered. All manuscripts will bepeer-reviewed, with as timely a review process as we can achieve.
If you have any questions or suggestions about topics you would like to seeaddressed in this section, or would like to chat about an idea you are consideringfor submission, feel free to call Hallie Preskill, the section editor, at (505) 277-6015or e-mail her at [email protected].
Coming Around Again: Renewing OurCommitment to Teaching Evaluation
HALLIE PRESKILLFor the past several years,AJEhas included a section titled, “Tips on Teaching Evaluation.”Few submissions were ever received, a state of affairs the editor and I see as unfortunategiven the importance of quality teaching to the field. In the hope of stimulating more attentionto the teaching of evaluation, the focus of this column has been broadened and I have beeninvited to serve as section editor. To expand the scope, applicability, and usefulness ofarticles in this section, we have retitled it, “Teaching Evaluation.” The title change isintended to indicate that the column’s focus is broader than simply “tips” for teaching. Inaddition, the column’s scope goes beyond the traditional classroom. We are interested insharing insights about teaching evaluation in other settings, including training and collabo-rative evaluation projects.
I look forward to the opportunity to help improve our understanding of quality teachingand to aid the dissemination of effective teaching strategies to a broad community ofpracticing evaluators. As an evaluation teacher and trainer for nearly twenty years, I’ve oftenwished for a forum where I could learn more about what is being done in classrooms,communities, and organizations to teach others about evaluation.
I believe the time may be ripe for such a column. As we look back over how the fieldhas grown and matured over the last thirty years, several things become clear. First, the
Hallie Preskill ● College of Education, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; Tel.: (505) 277-6015; Fax:(505) 277-8360; E-mail: [email protected].
American Journal of Evaluation, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2000, pp. 103–104. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.ISSN: 1098-2140 Copyright © 2000 by American Evaluation Association.
103
practice of evaluation has seeped into every type of organization and community. While onceconsidered the domain of public, government-sponsored programs, evaluation is now beingviewed as critical to organizational survival and success in many private and non-profitorganizations. A result of this shift is that more and more employees are engaging in internalevaluation practice even though they may not be called “evaluators.” A quick perusal of jobdescriptions in the fields of education, human resource development, health care promotion,policy analysis, criminal justice, and human services, just to name a few, shows thatevaluation knowledge and skills are fast becoming core competencies for employment. Overthe years we’ve also come to understand that the field of evaluation represents a special bodyof knowledge and skills that go beyond traditional research methods. Those interested inusing participatory and collaborative approaches to evaluation also need a strong understand-ing of the relationship skills required to teach and to work with others throughout anevaluation process. All of these forces suggest that attention to the teaching of evaluation isimportant, and not just to those who teach evaluation in traditional academic settings. We seethis section as a professional development resource to support the growth and developmentof evaluation practitioners as we continue to develop ourselves, the profession, and AEA.
In the “Teaching Evaluation” section we hope to provide a variety of articles that focuson evaluation teaching and training in diverse environments. For example, articles mayaddress evaluation training in K–12, corporate, government, non-profit, or communitysettings, in addition to more traditional academic settings. Articles might also identifystrategies for and outcomes of teaching evaluation to community and agency members. Avariety of formats are welcome, including case studies, interviews, and more traditionalarticles. Research on the teaching of evaluation is especially welcome.
The following list, which is by no means exhaustive, illustrates some of the topics thatare appropriate for this section.
● Tried-and-true practices in teaching evaluation● Research on the teaching of evaluation● Challenges and issues in the teaching and training of evaluation● Suggestions for how to teach specific evaluation topics, such as multicultural and
diversity issues, politics, and ethics (strategies and resources)● Interviews with evaluation educators● Teaching evaluation across disciplines● Teaching novice vs. experienced evaluators● Overview of evaluation education/training courses and programs and what makes
them unique● Historical reviews of evaluation training in organizations● Discussions/debates on evaluator competencies● What makes a great teacher of evaluation?● Models for teaching evaluation
We hope you will take some time to think about writing an article for this section ofAJE. Allmanuscripts will be peer-reviewed, with as timely a review process as we can achieve. Ingeneral, manuscripts for this section should range from 5 to 20 pages in length, althoughshorter or longer papers will be considered. If you have any questions, or suggestions abouttopics you would like to see addressed in this section, or would like to chat about an idea youare considering for submission, feel free to call me, Hallie Preskill, at (505) 277–6015 ore-mail me at [email protected].
104 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EVALUATION, 21(1), 2000
Recommended
